A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 27

When Jubilee stopped by L's and Light's side of the desk to deliver a plate of sweet pastries to them both, for the third afternoon in a row since Matsuda's rescue, L stopped her. She had been about to move on to share more of Watari's baked delights with the rest of the task force, when the detective's soft voice made her pause.

"Miss Amachi."

She turned. "Yes?"

L measured her with a long, emotionless gaze. She met his look calmly—and with what was probably a bit of a goofy smile. There was an unexplainable freedom to letting oneself be in love without expecting anything in return.

After a moment, he finally spoke. "You have been unusually..." He searched for the right word. "Charitable, lately." He let the statement sit for a second in an invitation for Jubilee to respond.

Beside them, Hellenos chuckled. It's no wonder the words 'charity' and 'love' are often interchangeable in the Word.

Jubilee's smile grew. "Yes," she said again, in agreement with both L and the angel.

The detective paused once more, casting a glance at the plate next to him—which was piled full of his favorite treats. Contrasting colors flurried around him, indicating his conflict between being pleased by the sweets and wary of Jubilee's sudden and unhidden attention towards him.

"Are you well?" he asked at last.

Light turned away from his monitor to face the detective. "You could just be grateful and say thank you," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Like this." He turned to Jubilee, the usual yellow glow around him brightening into gold as he addressed her. "Thank you, Julie, for thinking of me and bringing me a snack. It was really considerate of you." He turned back to L with a smirk. "See, not so hard to be civilized, is it?"

Jubilee burst out laughing at the subtle glower that L sent Light's way, which served to enhance the hues around the detective with a coppery bronze. "I've never been better," she said to the brooding L. "And you're welcome, Light," she said to the younger man with a grin. Turning back to L, she asked cheerfully, "Anything else, boss?"

L narrowed his eyes at her, clearly annoyed at her flippant attitude. "You are not letting... what we discussed, distract you from the case, are you?"

Light cut in again, saving Jubilee from having to answer. "Come on, Ryuzaki, give it a rest," he said good-naturedly. "Are you really going to complain that she's bringing you sweets?"

L's brows knit together. "Well...no," he conceded at last. He sounded almost sulky.

Jubilee felt her heart swell for the detective—inexplicably, for such was the nature of love that his dour mood towards her could not quell it, and even his pouting seemed endearing to her.

Ah, human love, chuckled Hellenos again. How much like the Father's it can be, when it is found.

Is that how it is? thought Jubilee. I guess I kind of get it now. She gave the detective another tender smile, which he returned with a blank stare.

"Then I better keep doing it, hadn't I?" she said to him. With that, she moved on with her platter of pastries, Hellenos gliding along beside her.

Behind her she heard Light chuckle as she walked away. A faint undertone of happy bells seemed to adorn the sound. Lately she had been noticing all kinds of new qualities in the people around her. Misa radiated a lovely childlikeness that sometimes had a hint of music to it as well, the way Light did. Practically every time Jubilee was in her company, her ears tingled with what sounded like a faint mixture of gentle chimes and laughing children. Even with the other task force members, Jubilee couldn't help but take note of the light in their eyes when they smiled, or the glow of excitement in their voices when they found a new lead in the case.